SAMBALPUR: In an effort to make people aware of the legacy of legendary freedom fighter Veer Surendra Sai and his sacrifices in the fight against Britishers at Debrigarh Sanctuary, the Hirakud Wildlife Division is developing a first of its kind Veer Surendra Sai Memorial in the region, at Barabakhara on the outskirts of Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary.
Barabakhara is a popular pilgrimage site and picnic destination of Western Odisha and is situated at a high elevation with huge caves and waterfall. Thousands of picnickers, trekkers and travelers throng the place from adjoining districts besides Chhattisgarh round the year.
A fact not known to many, the Debrigarh Sanctuary has played an important role in Western Odisha’s revolution against British invasion under the leadership of Veer Surendra Sai during 1830’s to 1860’s. While Surendra Sai and his followers were taking refuge at various places during the freedom struggle, Barabkhara was one of the safest places for the rebels during the war. The revolutionaries were holding meetings besides making the strategies of the battle against the British at the cave.
During the period he took refuge here, he constructed chain of hill forts with stone and mud at the top of Debrigarh hills, along the principal roads connecting Sambalpur with Raipur, Ranchi and Cuttack. The forts were constructed in and around Debrigarh Sanctuary and its contiguous Barapahada hill range which stretches from Western Odisha along Hirakud Reservoir upto Singhoda of Chhatisgarh. And it was because of all the contribution of Sai for this place, more than 100 villages of Ambabhona block at Bargarh District, surrounding Barabakhra have continued to protect and conserve Debrigarh Sanctuary out of their sheer devotion towards Veer Surendra Sai.
Divisional forest officer (DFO), Hirakud Wildlife Division, Anshu Pragyan Das said, “Because of the historic association of Surendra Sai with Debrigarh, the inhabitants around Barabakhra have a unique devotion towards him even today. To encourage them further to conserve the forest and wildlife in the coming days and to make people aware of Sai’s contribution, we have come up with the Memorial.”
She further said, “The pictorial representation of the major incidents besides war stories of the legendary freedom fighter in sequence will be depicted through the sculptures. A group of local artists are working on sculptures under the supervision of the local Eco-Development Committee. The work will be completed in around a month.